NC State
No. 17 Penn State
Gymnastics Starts Season In #STATEment Fashion With 194.7 Team Total
1/9/2016 6:32:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
The Pack earned first-place individual finishes on beam, floor and all-around
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- The NC State gymnastics team started its season in #STATEment fashion Saturday evening, as it posted a meet total of 194.700 clinch a win over Penn State inside Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions, who posted a team score of 194.125, were listed at 17th in the NCAA Preseason Poll, while the Pack was picked 27th. This marks the first time in program history that the Wolfpack has defeated Penn State on its home turf.
Collectively, the Pack earned individual wins on beam, floor and the all-around competition, as well as seven top-three finishes on the day and five collegiate debuts.
From The Coach's Perspective
"As a coaching staff we're very proud of not only the performance, but the heart and effort that the team put out today. We have a really young team and had a lot of new faces competing for us, as all four freshman competed in the rotation lineups," said associate head coach Colleen Johnson.
"Everyone stepped up and did a great job, there is some room for improvement with the little things like landings and steps which will help us improve throughout the season. They started strong on bars and finished strong on beam and look forward to getting prepared for our next meet."
Uneven Bars
As a team NC State posted a score of 48.875 on uneven bars in its first event of the 2016 season.
The Pack's rotation was highlighted by senior Courtney Turner's career-high score of 9.825 to earn a tie for third place in the overall standings. Nicole Wild additionally had a strong performance on bars as she posted a mark of 9.800, resulting in a fifth-place finish.
All-arounder Michaela Woodford notched a score of 9.775, while Amanda Fillard and Chelsea Knight tabbed marks of 9.75 and 9.725, respectively, to round out the top five scores for NC State on the rotation.
Vault
Knight led the way for the Wolfpack on vault as she tied for first place in the event standings with a mark of 9.825.
Newcomer Alexa Phillips made her career debut on vault, posting a 9.725 to earn a fourth-place finish and contribute valuable points to the team's total score of 48.425.
Floor Exercise
With a team score of 48.325, NC State was led by Woodford on floor exercise with a mark of 9.800 to tab a second-place finish. Additionally, Paris Phillips made her collegiate debut with a score of 9.675 to finish fifth.
Balance Beam
Wild posted a career-high 9.900 on balance beam to finish first and highlight the Pack's final rotation of the day, helping the squad earn a total score of 49.075.
Knight and Caitlyn Fillard each tabbed a mark of 9.825 to tie for third, while Woodford notched a 9.775 to finish in a tie for sixth place.
Sophomore Sami Circeo made her debut in NC State's beam lineup, notching a mark of 9.75, while Amanda Fillard matched Circeo's score to both tie for eighth place.
All-Around
Knight earned a score of 39.000 to win the all-around competition, marking the first time she has competed on all four events for NC State, while Woodford tabbed a second-place finish with a total of 38.950.
Caitlyn Fillard made her collegiate debut as an all-arounder, placing fourth with a score of 38.650.
Up Next
The Pack will travel to Las Vegas to face LSU Jan .14 in the Lady Luck Invitational. The meet is set for a 10 p.m. ET start inside South Point Hotel and Casino.
Players Mentioned
